Gifted Deposit Problem

TTM

Hoping someone can offer some advice.

My father is gifting some money towards a deposit and has been asked by my solicitor to satisfy their money laundering checks by showing evidence of every link in the chain that the money has travelled along from pension payout to latest savings account.  It's been going on a for a little while as I think he's lost track of a few of the savings accounts he's used over the last few years and he's getting on a bit.  We are now approaching crunch time I'm getting increasingly worried this is going to cause a major issue and am hoping someone can suggest ideas for helping him track down where he's moved it from and to.

EDIT - I was a bit unsure if this was the best forum for this question, so if not let me know and I'll ask for it to be moved.

[Deleted User]

Hi are you sure you can’t just provide the last 3/6months statement showing that the money has been in the account ? 

K_S

@ttm Are the funds from overseas? Ordinarily, for UK based gifted deposits, solicitors usually ask for 3-6 months worth of bank statements to verify the source from the giftor. How far back does the solicitor want to go? 

TTM

I’m awaiting clarification tomorrow morning, but my understanding at the moment is that they want to see every link.  From the account the pension lump sum was paid into back in 2019 to where it is now.  Seems excessive and I’m hoping they can be persuaded, but am worried. 

TTM

Not from overseas, no. Civil service pension to Uk bank/savings accounts 

[Deleted User]

Seems very excessive, why you just obtain the last 6 months bank statements and send it to them. Tell them I’m going to send you this as proof that the funds have been in account 

TTM

We have.  They are asking to see proof of every link

TTM

I’m glad it’s not just me who thinks it’s excessive.

I’m particularly worried as I seem to remember reading about someone else’s similar experience and it was a case of each solicitor having their own requirements as to what would satisfy their money laundering checks. 

[Deleted User]

Yeah your right. What did you have to show them for your part of the deposit ?

TTM

That’s come from another relative.  It was from equity release, so quite straightforward

K_S

TTM said:

I’m glad it’s not just me who thinks it’s excessive.

I’m particularly worried as I seem to remember reading about someone else’s similar experience and it was a case of each solicitor having their own requirements as to what would satisfy their money laundering checks. 

@ttm As someone who has AML requirements to meet myself when it comes to my clients, I couldn't automatically say that it's excessive without knowing the context. 

In the whole chain of people involved in facilitating a purchase transaction, the solicitor has the most heightened responsibility of assuring the lender that funds being used are legit. I'm not suggesting anything untoward, but as far as the solicitor is concerned, there might be specific factors that have triggered their requirement to trace the funds all the way back to the source.

I would be surprised if their blanket policy was to trace every £ of a deposit back to its 'original' source.